Public Voice: “Your dreams for me are my fears,” Unhoused resident shares thoughts on Ampersee Eviction

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This post contains some adult language, so discretion is advised

 

I want to share my thoughts after the events of this month… 

 

Well mostly I am thinking of my furbabies; what could happen to them during all of this.

 

I think of my community, and how it has been split to the four winds. I hear stories that police are finding them at 3-4 a.m. and rousting them out of their camps making them move. Then those rumors are confirmed.

 

All they say is to get out of the city or to go to the mission: that’s it. 

 

Now that we are separated from our groups, our safety, we have been run off by regular citizens. Kids threatening physical abuse against us. We have become targets not just for the blue plague, but any nutcase with an attitude and needs to release it on someone.

We have things thrown at us. People are finding camps, and destroying them, burning them, then they get back in their cars and drive off. Wow, and the homeless are supposedly such bad people.  

 

This is just the start. Now we have no way to stay in touch with our support groups and meal trains and so on. We have become scared to move around during the day, mostly in fear of being found out and swept out again. 

 

And now we need to find donations to get meal access and more tents, because of the blue plague epidemic spreading throughout kalamazoo. That is what we call the police tactical force team targeting the homeless community. It's an epidemic rolling through town with the intention to trash our tents; destroy our belongings, family treasures and momentos; and get the vehicles and campers too. 

 

The problems created by these malicious tactics used by this blue plague of thugs and paid bullies that the city manager and commission sent after us; it is like the gloves of proper law and enforcement have come off and they enjoy doing this to us.

 

No matter what you do you can't defend yourself against their brutality. You’re being pushed around, knocked down, attacked trying to do as they ask. I've seen these tactics when we were taught them in the military for crowd control: “push, clear and move” for emptying out buildings and villages, for advantage or destruction of force support.

 

I swear, I could hear them talking as they were doing it. There was this sense of "yes finally, pay back on these low life fucks.”

 

The looks of disgust and disdain.  

 

It is hard to keep ego and self out of this conflict. I must keep myself from reacting violently with everything I have, because part of me wants to make them feel what I feel, but I know to do so, I would lose myself.

 

They get to do that to us, however, and not only that, they get to arrest us too for standing up to them. They ticket us, physically hurt us, restrain us, and it's all legal under the law.

 

As far as I have been told by our attorney, I have a date with a judge, and not for dinner either.

 

I hope the gods above who look over me and try to guide me through this don't stop finding love and favor for me and those around me in my community, because of all this anger and hurt we feel. But it does not consume me, and hopefully it never will.

 

We have been called unlawful people who just want to camp all the time and have a party because we are all drunks and drug addicts. These words come from city officials.

Anderson has had 16 years on the commission and now as mayor, and I guess this is how he feels about us honestly. I was appalled by his words and actions the day we finally talked. He said he would listen to us when we have a good idea for a solution to homelessness. He would listen then, and only then, to our needs and belly aches basically. He is a landlord, and that is how he makes his money.

 

Remember that you should have come to the table with your hands out to help us and instead you have helped yourself mostly.

 

As we say :

 

Your dreams for me are my fears,

But most importantly, my dreams should be yours.

 

Stay tuned for more Mo. I will keep sharing my thoughts. 

Peace and love always and remember to be safe out there. 

To my friends and family: For now, keep to the shadows.

 

Mo and his dog

Meet Mo/Ian

 

Mo/Ian, 58, is an unhoused resident and outspoken advocate for the homeless community. Ian grew up in Portage back when it was a two-lane road, and Crossroads Mall was just a sandpit. He joined the military at 17, and later worked many odd jobs before realizing his love for building and working with his hands. He went into carpentry and construction in his 30’s, and eventually owned his own business. 

Mo collaborated with with PMN to write: "We are not the stigma you believe that we are," One man's story of homelessness.